Professor Andreas Hornung

General

Professor Andreas Hornung has a range of research interests and expertise.

Professor Hornung studied for his first degree at Technical University Darmstadt in Germany. He completed his Doctorate in Natural Sciences (PhD equivalent) at Technische Universitaet Kaiserslautern.

Andreas gained initial experience as a graduate research assistant, and was leader of the Pyrolysis group at the University of Karlsruhe. He then worked as an engineering consultant for AHT Austria, on the development of the Haloclean Reactor System, before moving to Sea Marconi Technologies in Italy, encompassing a role that combined developing market strategies with project management. Andreas then became coordinator of the European projects in Haloclean conversion and application, whilst also working on contracts with the University of Karlsruhe, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and Sea Marconi, before moving to the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH, Institute of Technical Chemistry as head of the pyrolysis/ gas treatment division.

Andreas later became a lecturer at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, lecturing on the thermo-chemical treatment of biomass. Since 2007 he has been responsible for the management of the industrial application of the results of the project Haloclean-Intermediate Pyrolysis for combined pyrolysis and electrification of biomass for several companies including Michelin and Evonik. In 2007 Andreas was appointed to his current position at Aston University, and is now Director of the European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI), also based at Aston.

Research interests

Development of pyrolysis reactors; Understanding of pyrolysis processes from micro scale to technical application supported by numerical simulation; Catalytic treatment of pyrolysis gases; Combined pyrolysis and electrification of biomass; Thermo-Chemical Treatment of Biomass; Numerical simulation of thermo-chemical processes; Design and operation of micro, lab, pilot and technical scale pyrolysis plants; Thermal degradation of polymers, electronic scrap and biomass as well as shredder light fractions; Separation of high value fractions from biomass; Optimisation of biochar; Catalytic and sorptive gas treatment for pyrolysis gases and gases from gasifiers.